Safe
by Lauka2
Summary: All she wanted was to play her flute. She just wanted to make her music. She didn't want to be were she was now. She just wanted to be Safe. Safe from him. Her music made her feel safe. But can someone else help her. Help her away from him? Set in an alternate timeline from my stories: Reunion, The sister and War. DickxOC
1. Chapter 1

First chapter of this story

This story is in another timeline from my stories Reunion, The Sister and War.

It's still the Carmen from there, except for a few changes. What they'll be, you'll just have to wait and see.

* * *

She looked at the crowd from behind the drapes and smiled. They were waiting for her, and she'd been waiting for a chance like this for a long time. A chance to prove herself in the way she wanted. With the piece she'd learned at her home, her mom's lullaby. She sighed and heard someone cough lightly behind her. She turned around and smiled.

"You scared me Mr. Wayne" she said and he smiled at her.

"Are you ready? My party is waiting for some entertainment"

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be I guess" she walked past him and sat down in front of a mirror. She didn't look the least like her mother, except for when she played the flute.

"I'm sorry to hear about your mom" Bruce said and put a hand on her shoulder "I knew her very well"

"I know… I just hope I can do her song justice" she said and took a deep breath.

"I have to go back to the party"

"Go, I'll be fine" she said and looked in the mirror again. Her black hair had been set up in a tight ponytail, with her bangs loose. She got up from the chair and sighed.

"It's now or Never Carmen" she said to herself and looked at the drapes. She'd been waiting her whole life to prove herself. To prove she could be as good as her mother, even with the flute. She looked at it and a tear trailed down her cheek. She took another deep breath and walked out on the stage. People were looking up at her, hundreds of eyes staring up at her. She gulped and felt her pulse going up. She always felt like this, even if she was just playing for a friend. She went to her place, right down in the front middle. She gave a nod to the other person on the scene, her partner you could say. A tune started and she took the flute to her mouth. Suddenly, a light tune filled the entire room, and the crowd went silent. She could see their faces, they were stunned. She smiled to herself inside her head. She didn't blame them for the silence. She looked terrifying and then she made this sound from the flute. Almost sounding like something from a fairytale, a tune to lure men deep into the woods where they would never be found. The melody got quicker as the song went by, and people sighed, almost in unison. She started to remember the feeling she would get when her mom played the tune, and tears started to fall. She closed her eyes, and could see her mom in front of her. The song was almost over, and the crowd was captivated. She knew it was because of her appearance, but also because of her age. She was merely 17, but the tune was mastered, down the last note. She ended the song and dragged the last tune out. The silence lasted for a second after she was done, then they all started clapping, and she sighed in relief.

"Thank you" she whispered to the flute. She looked up and smiled at the crowd. She could see some people were crying, if it was because she was crying or because the tune had made them feel something, she didn't know. All she knew, was that the hard part was over, now she just had to play the rest of the tunes while the party went on. People wouldn't stand and listen to the rest of the tunes, those weren't important to her, so they wouldn't be as special. She smiled at put the flute to her lips again. Just before she started playing though, her eyes caught the sight of a young man, approximately around her own age. He was talking to Bruce. She could hear her partner had started playing, and begun playing herself. She kept staring at him; she couldn't take her eyes off of him for some reason. He turned around and looked into her eyes. His eyes almost had the same color as hers, a deep icy blue. But his felt warm. She closed her eyes slowly and let the music fill her veins. The whole disappeared from her, and she felt like she was only one there. It always felt like that when she played. Nothing mattered. No one could hurt her. She was safe as long as the music played. As long as the flute played, she was safe from him. She didn't have to fear being killed. She was safe. Safe.

* * *

There, end of the first Chapter.

The melody she's playing is called Nausicaa-Requiem(Nausica) by East Winds Ensemble.

It's a beautiful piece that i discovered a few days ago. It's anotherversion of the theme song to Hayako Miyazaki's movie Nausica.


	2. Chapter 2

Second chapter.

Long chapter too... hope i gave you guys enough things to think about in the previous chapter :*

* * *

She was done with her part of the concert at the big charity party. She got up from her small chair and bowed to everybody. Some people clapped, the others were in deep conversation. She smiled to herself, she'd never gotten why rich people enjoyed small talk so much, when all they ever talked about was how their business was either going well or bad, or how much money they'd spend during the weekend. She walked down from the stage and felt a bit wobbly. She tripped at the last step on the stairs and hurled towards the ground head first, when a pair of big arms caught her.

"Easy there Carmen" she looked up and smiled.

"Thanks for catching me Bruce" she said and stoop up properly "I guess I was a little more nervous than I thought" she said and giggled.

"Seems like it" Bruce replied and smiled "would you care to follow me?"

"Not at all" she smiled and walked after him as good as she could in her heels "what do you want?" she asked when he stopped up by a table, with two people sitting down. One was a small boy who seemed bored out of his mind, the other was the young man she'd seen when she was playing.

"I want you to meet my two wards; Tim Drake and Dick Grayson" he said and she smiled at the two. The boy looked up at her and dropped his jaw.

"How did you get that?" he asked and stared at her face. She looked a little surprised and the young man smacked him in back of the head teasingly.

"You don't just ask that Tim" he said and she sat down, one leg resting on the other.

"Oh its okay" she smiled at them both "but I'd like to hear you say your names first. I'll start; my name's is Carmen Ericson. What's your name little boy?"

"I'm not little and my name's Tim Drake" he said and crossed his arms "how'd you even get those scars?" he said and looked at her. She sighed and traced the three pink scars in her face.

"I just said you can't just ask like that" the young man, who she assumed was Dick Grayson, said "My name's Dick Grayson" seems like she was right "Tim here doesn't know how to act around other people"

"I Just said, It was okay" she smiled a little "but are you sure you want to know kid? It might be a little scary for someone your age"

"Believe me, it's going take a lot to scare me" he said and got smacked in the back of his head again "ow" he said and looked at Dick. Carmen giggled a bit.

"I have the same thing" she leaned over the table and intertwined her fingers "I got these scars recently actually, about six months ago" she closed her eyes. The two boys looked at her as she spoke "I remember it all, almost like it's happening. Five months ago, I found myself in the back of a truck along with my mom. Someone had kidnapped us on the open street, no one even had time to react to what happened. They stopped up right in front of us, almost drove us down. Then they threw us into the back of their truck. I heard them talking. Saying something about only needing one. They meant my mother. When I got out of the truck, I was standing face to face with the Joker himself. He was grinning widely as laughed when he looked me in the face. Me and my mom was bound, in separate rooms. I could hear her mumble sometimes, so I knew she was in the next room. I can't remember what she mumbled, couldn't really hear it either"

"What about the scars?" Tim said and Dick looked at him.

"I'm getting there. We were there for about three months, then the Joker came into the room I was in… he took out a knife and asked me a question. I answered. He didn't do anything. He asked me another question. I answered… apparently the answer was wrong"

"How did you know?"

"He yelled 'wrong!' and swung the knife, giving me this" she traced the top scar of the three "and the game continued, every time I gave a satisfactory answer, nothing happened. But every time he didn't like the answer, he cut me. It lasted for an hour. I remember fearing a cut after every answer"

"I can see he didn't like three of your answers… what were the questions?" Dick asked and looked at the scars.

"I don't remember. It wasn't just three answers he didn't like. My arms were also covered with small wounds, and he could hit me with whatever he could reach. I was a wreck when they finally found me"

"What about your mother?" Tim asked, caught up in the story.

"They couldn't find her. When I was found, I'd already been on my own for a week"

"Was this in Gotham? The joker usually operates in Gotham" Tim almost sat on his knees on the table.

"No… it was in Blüdhaven" she said with a smile "do you know who got me out of that place?"

"Nightwing?" Tim said and turned towards Dick.

"It was…" her voice was dreamy and she looked like she was remembering some sort of dream "I don't know how, but somehow he'd gotten word of someone being in that building. He was shocked when he saw me, who wouldn't be? I was covered in bruises and blood…"

"Glad I wasn't the one to find you… sounds horrible" Dick said and Tim rolled his eyes.

"But how come you don't seem affected by it?"

"I had a hypnotist help me… a special one, a real one, so the memories wouldn't bother me so much" she said and looked around "did you guys hear something?" she asked and they looked at each other in confusion.

"No…" they said in unison.

"It almost sounded like… sorry, but I have to go now" she said and looked at them "nice to meet you by the way" she nodded and walked towards the door. She walked out and looked around.

"I must be going crazy" she said to herself and could still hear the voice from before. It was almost silent, barely a whisper.

"Is everything okay Carmen?" She heard someone say behind her. She turned around and smiled a little.

"Yeah… I just think I have to go home and sleep… see you sometime later Bruce" she said and waved.

* * *

When she arrived home she slammed the door shut and locked the door. She looked around, searching for that voice. The voice she'd been hearing since the party.

"Who's there?!" she yelled and looked around. The voice wasn't loud and no matter where she walked it didn't become louder. She held her head, trying to block it out, but it didn't change anything. She tried to tell what was whispered, but every time she was just about to get it, the words slipped away and she could only hear the quiet whisper again. She started singing quietly to herself.

"Hush little baby, don't say a word" she sang the song quickly.

"Momma's gonna buy you a mockingbird"

"And if the mocking bird won't sing" she pressed her hands closer to her ears.

"Momma's gonna buy you a diamond ring" the whisper became quicker and more frantic. She made a loud sound and fell to her knees. Suddenly, it stopped. It faded out and everything went quiet in her head. She looked around, but nothing had changed. She got up, wobbling a bit before standing up completely. She kept looking around and tried to recall the whisper. She felt it was important. The whisper had sounded desperate in the end. She tried to remember the words and but they still slipped away from her. She sighed and sat down in a chair.

"Can't think about that… got school tomorrow" she said and looked up into the ceiling. Summer vacation had just ended, for her at least. She'd been allowed to stay out of school for another two months, to cope with the kidnapping.

"Only needed two weeks…" she closed her eyes "that voice… why did it sound familiar?" she said and got up from the chair. She started humming again, but this time it was the tune she'd been playing at the party. She smiled a bit and looked into the bathroom mirror. She traced the three scars and felt a shiver go down her spine. She could remember every cut he gave her, every joke he made. But what she remembered the clearest was the face of her rescuer. His eyes that widened when he saw her. How he covered his nose to block out the stench. Somehow, she'd seen everything as if she was watching it. She could see herself sitting in the chair, looking at him with almost dead eyes. She'd been in there for so long, she didn't even know how long she'd been there. She closed her eyes and played the scene inside her head.

* * *

"_Is anybody in here?" she could hear a faint voice say. It sounded male "Hello?" she tried making a sound, but was too exhausted. She closed her eyes and looked into the floor._

"_What the?!" she heard someone say "what's that stench?!" she could hear steps not far away from the door. Someone turned the knob on the door around and it opened. She looked up at whoever entered. The one standing in the door covered his nose and coughed. He stared at her with horror in his eyes and as soon as he had gotten used to the stench from the dried blood and other substances he walked over to her. She looked him in the eyes and tried to look past the mask._

"_Are you Carmen Ericson? Blink once for yes, twice for no" he said and looked her over. She blinked once and looked at her._

"_First time in Blüdhaven?" one blink._

"_Having a good time?" two blinks, two angry blinks "sorry" he said and walked behind her. He didn't ask question while untying her, he just talked._

"_Sorry I didn't come sooner, the Joker doesn't usually come around here, so people don't really know him" he was careful with the ropes "but I'll get you to a hospital soon. Then I'll make sure to find your mother" she made a sound and he was done with the ropes. She fell to floor and looked at him._

"_She's… not… here?" she managed to say. She regretted it, seeing as how it only made her realize how thirsty she was. The man walked over to her and took out a water bottle. She drank of it greedily and coughed when it went a little too quick._

"_No… Joker got away with her" he said and she looked at him. Her throat felt a lot better._

"_Name?" she said and coughed a bit. Her throat was stinging a bit._

"_Nightwing" he said and picked her up from the floor "you wanna go to a hospital in Blüdhaven or Gotham?"_

"_Gotham" she said and felt her body getting heavier. His arms were holding him securely, she was safe for now. He held her tighter and she smiled. She was going to be alright, for now._

* * *

She opened her eyes and washed her face. The last thought she had before falling asleep in Nightwing's arms, was that she was going be okay. She gave a fake chuckle and looked in the mirror. Everything had gone the right way when she'd gotten out of the hospital, except for those scars. Everyone looked at them, everyone questioned them. But that wasn't a problem for her. The problem was something else completely. She brushed her teeth and walked into her bedroom. She sighed and went under the covers. She knew what the problem was. She couldn't shake it. She had to do something about it. Or else she would just be in danger again. A feeling swelled up in her. She knew this feeling, she'd felt it once before. The day before she was kidnapped. She could feel something stirring a few days ahead. She'd always been cautious since that day. Since he made her loose her safety. The day she knew she needed to hide. The day he went after her. The day she made her first mistake.

* * *

Even more mysteries! Yay X3

Carmen has a different personality, doesn't she? o.O

I posted this in Batman: the animated series, because Tim's personality fits better here. So that's it


End file.
